Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Those rights belong to a number of people—DC comics and Cartoon Network come to mind as possibilities. So give all credit to them, assuming you can figure out who it is. My money's on DC.

Author's Note: The entire series is based at least partially on my Teen Titans website, which can be accessed by going to my homepage if you are so inclined. Despite this, it can still be read by anyone who is not a member of the website, so don't be discouraged. Enjoy!

Demons

As the fire surrounded me, I could feel what remained of my flesh peeling away as I was forced to relive the most traumatic days of my life. The days in combat where I had nearly been killed, the tortures I had been forced to endure, the day my wife left me...all were terrible, yes, but spaced out between each other. Not like this. Not piled on top of each other, amplified by the momentous abilities of the crazed witch. And then, in a burst of crimson light, they released the ultimate destruction...and that was the day I died.

Again.

I've been called many things before. Slade Wilson, veteran hero. Deathstroke the Terminator, one of the world's greatest villains. Even "Daddy". But never before had I been called worthless. The word stung me, striking on mounted insecurities and all the guilt I had stored away...guilt over betraying my family and nearly letting my son be killed. And she used that guilt, tormenting me until I was ready to weep and beg for forgiveness.

Of course, by that time it was far too late.

I was the best there was. When I was in the army--illegally, I might add, for I masked my real age in order to be accepted--I soon became one of their greatest soldiers. When my strength and agility was enhanced by an experiment, I became more than human--a superhuman that the army sorely needed. But I was smart--perhaps one of the smartest men alive, one of the side effects of the experiment that gave me my powers. Normal men could only use ten percent of their brain's latent ability...I could use nearly all of it.

I saw the opportunity for power, and I seized it. I became the man I am today, building my own criminal empire and becoming one of the most wanted men across the globe. But the consequences were dire...my son nearly payed the ultimate price for my betrayal, and my wife wished me dead. I was alone...and that, too, was used against me in this most heinous of tortures.

When you get right down to it, I suppose I always was unlucky with apprentices. Robin viewed me as his mortal enemy--his skills matched my own, perhaps, but he would die before serving me completely. Only by holding the lives of his friends in the balance could I bend him to my will...but even then he was able to stop me. Clever boy.

And then there was Terra. She was strong--not as talented as Robin, perhaps, but in her veins flowed the power of the Earth itself, an ability so royal that her might was nearly limitless. And she was naive, gullible...and far too easy for me to manipulate.

I became her "friend", taught her everything she wished to know...in exchange for one simple thing--for her to join me and destroy the Titans who had harmed me so. But even that backfired. Terra revolted at the last instant, and I was hurled to my burning death.

And yet I returned...although it was not entirely my doing. Beyond life, I was..."recruited" by the extra-dimensional demon known as Trigon the Terrible. He had his own agenda, and for the moment, it needed me. I was to serve him, and in return, I would gain back what I had lost: my life.

So, I became his slave. It was degrading, humiliating...but it came with its perks. Trigon blessed me with demonic powers, including the ability to emit deadly hellfire. That itself made my task much easier.

And my aforementioned task was threefold: to find Trigon's daughter, to remind her of her destiny, and then make sure that she fulfilled it by bringing Trigon back to corporeal form.

The first part of the task was already complete. Raven and I had met many times...coincidence beyond coincidences, she was one of those blasted Teen Titans who had plagued me so. With her incredible dark powers, she was, perhaps, the strongest of them all, and during my mortal life, I had even feared her with some portion of my soul.

But I was no longer mortal.

On the day of her birthday, I made myself known once more, rising to attack and raise the attention of the Teen Titans. Then, I went after Raven, using my incredible power to bypass all of her delaying methods--even her attempts at literally freezing all of time could not halt my dreadful pursuit. And when I caught up with her, I burned the scars of Trigon onto her skin...and with that, the second part of my task was complete.

As I continued my quest, my "master" began to stir once more, destroying the realm that had plagued him for centuries--the mystical world known as Azarath. In one dreadful assault, he destroyed the place, bringing ruin to Raven's former homeworld and thus cutting off all chance of her escaping the Prophecy.

I myself feared the Prophecy. Formerly, I had known not of it, but my master Trigon revealed it to me. The daughter of the demon would restore his body, releasing the seals and bringing him to Earth, thus allowing him to create the Apocalypse foretold by many of Earth's religions. The end of humanity would be at hand, yes...but what other choice did I have? Perhaps if I served him, I might somehow survive. It was better than the alternative, for with my deeds during my mortal life, only the heavens may know what form of afterlife I would visit.

With the day of the Apocalypse at hand, I prepared to kidnap Raven...but she chose to go with only minimal reluctance. She knew of her destiny, and knew also that it was unavoidable. The symbols of Skath were burned onto her skin, and it was only a matter of time before she came around to my way of thinking.

But prudence has always been a part of my nature. I knew what I was getting into when I made a deal with the devil--literally--and certain measures of precaution had to be taken. Through numerous contacts, I learned of an ancient sect of priests who had, long ago, sealed away my dread master, doing all they could to keep him banished forevermore. Although they had failed in the second goal, they possessed a certain degree of divine power: that of their goddess, Azar--the creator of the pacifist realm Azarath. Azar had imbued her essence into two holy rings upon her departure from the mortal realm, and Azar's power was supposedly the only thing that could resist the full brunt of Trigon's wrath.

Azar was gone, but the rings remained, and through a great deal of difficulty was I able to make an arrangement. As I brought Raven to Trigon, I made a..."pit-stop", if you will, at a place where Azar's power was once plentiful. A robed figure--a woman, although I could not see her face--gave me a single ring.

When I asked about the condition of the second ring, I was informed that it had long since vanished. Perhaps this was a lie, prepared to conceal a certain truth...but it mattered not. A single ring would still be sufficient to ward off any foul play by my master.

And so I took Raven to her father, leaving behind the mysterious woman. I considered killing her, in case it was a trap, but decided against it. There was a very real chance that this girl retained protection from Azar, and as such none of my hellish abilities would affect her--and besides, even if I was able to kill her, it could be that the ring would cease functioning, and that was not something I wanted to risk.

Things deteriorated rather rapidly after that. Raven, sensing my insecurities with her damnable powers, pushed at the buttons she knew would anger me most. In a rage, I lost control momentarily, and the demon henchmen Trigon had given me turned to stop me from killing the demon's daughter.

I thought things would end then--that, once I had calmed down, I would once again be in control--but I was wrong. Surprising even me, Raven did the one thing I never expected--she embraced her father's evil, perhaps sensing that things were hopeless already for the good in her. And, with the aid of her father, she sent me on an emotional roller coaster, forcing me to relive the worst moments of my life...and then she stripped me of the spell that kept me alive beyond death.

For a second time in the past year, I died.

But somehow, I arose again. The ring on my finger, glowing with an azure aura, seemed to keep me alive, animating my corpse like Trigon had done previously. The demonic powers are gone now...but I'm still me, the best there is.

And I'm going to get my revenge on Raven and her father, once and for all.